The leaders of 17 nations sat at an arc-shaped table in the opulent Salle des Fetes of France's ElyseePalace, the same room used to sign the Bosnia peace accords, for the signing of the Founding Act on Mutual Relations, Cooperation and Security.
The signature took place at a ceremony at the ElyseePalace in Paris, hosted by the president of France, Jacques Chirac, and by the president of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Durao Barroso.